Toveritar/Naisten Viiri

TOVERITAR/NAISTEN VIIRI. Beginning in July 1911, Toveritar (Female Comrade) was published as “the only Finnish women’s journal in America” by the Finnish Socialist Federation (Suomalainen Sosialistijärestö) in Astoria, Oregon. The newspaper ceased publication in June 1978 in Superior, Wisconsin, where it had been published by Työmies (Worker) Society under the title Naisten Viiri (Women’s Banner) but appeared for a short time as a section in the society’s other weekly, Työmies-Eteenpäin (Worker-Forward). Toveritar was conceived in the years preceding the first edition by socialist Finnish women who wished to improve the oppressed condition of immigrant women living in the United States and Canada. During a discussion of women’s role in socialism at the 1906 founding meeting of the Finnish Socialist Federation in Hibbing, Minnesota, three women delegates argued that, indeed, women in America suffer just as men of the working class and in addition are denied the right to vote. To address this and many other problems they experience both as women and as immigrants, the delegates argued, women need their own newspaper.

Established in 1909 with a circulation of 3,000, Toveritar was published by Toveri (Comrade). The weekly remained in Astoria until 1930 and reached a peak of 10,000 regular subscribers in 1925, surpassing Toveri. Its annual Women’s Day issue reached 15,000 American and Canadian women. In 1930, Toveritar was moved to Superior, Wisconsin, and its name was changed to Työlaisnainen (Working Woman). In 1936 the name was changed to Naisten Viiri. After 1919, it reflected generally the views of the Communist Party.

The paper’s express purpose was to awaken women to the world around them, to show them that they were exploited and denied full human rights, and to teach them how to improve their lives both collectively and individually. Throughout its existence, the newspaper remained loyal to the labor movement. The editors encouraged working women to contribute writings and thereby opened doors to literary careers for many of them. The paper sought to inspire women to organize, to work together for the common good, for peace and for education of their young. It urged them to participate in elections, to vote for their candidates, and always to fight for their rights as women and members of the working class.

Helmi Mattson, a Finnish immigrant woman, served as perhaps the most successful and best-known editor of the paper. Mattson’s literary skills and insight into immigrant life made possible Toveritar’s popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. She is the most prolific and versatile of women Left authors in the United States, publishing novels, plays, poetry, and essays, most of which first saw print in the paper.

Aavikon Vaeltajat (Desert Wanderers), given away as a premium for new subscriptions in 1928, developed the story of a Finnish American woman’s sojourn through politics and personal life. She also documented the rich history of Finnish American Left theater. Her autobiography was serialized, after her 1974 death, in Naisten Viiri.

Karvonen, Hilja J. “Three Proponents of Women’s Rights in the Finnish-American Labor Movement from 1910 to 1930: Selma Jokela McCone, Maiju Nurmi and Helmi Mattson.” In For the Common Good: Finnish Immigrants and the Radical Response to Industrial America, edited by Michael Kami and Douglas Ollila, Jr. Superior, Wis.: Työmies Society, 1977.

The Helmi Mattson Reader. Available in draft form from the Immigration History Research Center, St. Paul, Minn.